Tuesday, 31 October 2006

'Very symmetrical...'

by Tim Massey

There was a good preview for the show in today's edition of Metro, a free daily newspaper given away on the local buses that many passengers pick up as they board. It's well-researched and written and sums up what the show's about nicely, and it's illustrated with a shot taken at yesterday's tech and dress during Emily's shower scene.

Several people asked if I was nervous when I arrived at the Alma for Salt'n'Sauce's first night, and I definitely got a bit anxious when my Quorn burger took so long to turn up it looked as though I was going to be eating it during the show - I wouldn't have been alone. Had I been performing, I'd have been a nervous wreck and in no condition to be eating veggie burgers, but, as I pointed out to Alison Comley when my food arrived, it wasn't as if I was going to have to come up with a new scene or fresh dialogue in the middle of the show! The dress rehearsal had also boosted my confidence, convincing me that the play works in performance, so I was 'quietly confident'. It doesn't do to be over-confident or arrogant, of course, but I wasn't exactly quaking in my boots (I wasn't wearing boots).

I took a seat at the back right-hand corner of the raked seating because I wanted to watch the audience as well as the show. Looking down at the set, which, to quote the script, does make, 'Very effective and imaginative use of the space,' I was thinking, 'I can't believe I wrote a play with a sofa in it!' It was a good house (44 of a possible 50) that responded interestingly to the show. There were laughs throughout (albeit not loud enough for me) and Simon said that the audience seemed on the verge of applauding at the end of every scene - someone did let slip a stray handclap - which he felt was a very good sign. What I think of as the play's 'big moments' - Simon and Jo's shower scenes in particular - went rather indifferently, though, with the Arthur's Seat scene (very quiet and understated) playing the best.

After the show, the cast very kindly gave Sam and me bottles of wine, and Pameli Benham gave us each a salt cellar as an opening night gift. Down in the box office, Ann Stiddard said that the performance had yielded the second highest take of the season so far - surprising for the first night as much of the audience at these usually has comps, but Sam had persuaded a large contingent of his day job colleagues to attend and they were paying full price. Ann sifted the completed audience feedback forms, which have to be distributed as a requirement for Arts Council funding (I don't particularly like their having to be handed out after the show because they seem to suggest a lack of confidence on the part of the show's producer - they imply that the fact that the audience decided to pay to attend the play and applauded is not enough of an endorsement, and explicit reassurance is needed from them that they enjoyed attending.) The feedback was largely bouquets with no brickbats. Someone wrote that the play was 'very symmetrical', which seemed an odd comment, but it is symmetrical in that it concludes with a reading of its opening lines.

An encouraging start.